HUNTSVILLE, AL -- The Frist Center for the Visual Arts will open "The Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay" Oct. 15, and the exhibition will remain on view in Nashville through Jan. 23, 2011, when the works in the show return to Paris.

The Frist Center is one of only three cities in the world to host this exhibition.

The exhibition includes 100 paintings from the permanent collection of the Musée d'Orsay and tells the story of the development of Impressionism through the magnificent works of artists living in Paris in the mid-to-late 19th century.

Among the highlights of the exhibition are important works, including 2 by Adolphe-William Bouguereau, 2 by Gustave Courbet, 6 by Edgar Degas, 15 by Édouard Manet, 6 by Claude Monet, 7 by Camille Pissarro, 11 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 5 by Alfred Sisley and James Abbott McNeill Whistler's Arrangement in Gray and Black, No. 1: Portrait of the Painter's Mother (1871), the painting best known as Whistler's MotherTickets on Sale

Advance timed tickets for "The Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay" are available at www.fristcenter.org (additional charges apply) and on site at the Frist Center.

Admission prices for this specially ticketed exhibition:

Visitors 18 and younger FREE

Frist Center Members FREE

Adults $15

Seniors (65+), $12

Active duty military $12

College students with ID $12

Groups of 10 or more (with reservations) $13 per person

Thursday and Friday evenings from 5-9 p.m., college students with ID will be admitted for $5.

Group reservations can be made by calling the Group Tour Coordinator at 615-744-3247.